Ocean models have been in use for several years for various purposes, for example, for predicting tidal heights and times of expected high tides and low tides. The importance of such tidal information is well known to all who work or recreate in or around coastal waters. Knowledge of the times, heights, and extent of the ebb and flow of tidal waters is of importance in a wide range of practical applications, including navigation through intra-coastal waterways; construction of bridges, docks, breakwaters, and deep water channels. The military, in particular the Navy, relies on tidal predictions for operational planning and execution in marine environments. Water depths at high tide can facilitate a beach landing, while later at the same location low tides may strand amphibious vehicles on muddy tidal flats. Tidal currents affect the positioning and/or movement of subsurface mines and Navy SEAL swimmers must gauge their heading based on the strength and direction of the tidal current.
Currently, to determine a tidal predication for a location other than a IHO tidal station, a user must manually look up the nearest tidal station in printed tide tables or refer to a database of fixed tidal stations, such as a database maintained by NAVOCEANO.
Tidal models including versions of the ADCIRC and PCTides models are described in C. A. Blain, R. H. Preller, A. P. Rivera, “Tidal Prediction Using the Advanced Circulation Model (ADCIRC) and a Relocatable PC-based System”, Oceanography, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2002.